CES 2022 loses another key exhibitor as Intel pulls out of in-person show

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

CES 2022’s exodus of exhibitors over rising COVID-19 concerns continues, with the latest withdrawal coming from Intel. The company typically has one of the biggest presences of major tech companies at the show. Intel joins a slew of other key companies skipping this year’s show in-person, which also includes Lenovo, Hisense, T-Mobile, AT&T, Amazon, Waymo, Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and iHeartRadio.

“The health and safety of our employees, partners and customers is always a top priority. After consulting with health officials and in the spirit of Intel’s safety policy, our plans for CES will move to a digital-first, live experience, with minimal on-site staff. We encourage you to join us as we deliver all our CES content and experiences virtually via the Intel Newsroom,” Intel commented in a statement.

The Consumer Technology Association remained committed to hosting this year’s conference in Las Vegas as recently as Wednesday, with Jean Foster, head of marketing and communications at the company, commenting to The Verge that “[our] mission remains to convene the industry and give those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.” Foster also noted that while the conference had received 42 cancellations at the time (for “less than 7% of our exhibit floor”), CES 2022 also added 60 new exhibitors recently, too, along with thousands of additional registrations.

And while many major companies have pulled out of attending this year’s conference in person, key participants like GM and Samsung (who are both currently still set to present keynotes at the conference) remain onboard with CES 2022, at least for now.